


Memories

by icecreamconolies



Series: Short Stories [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25437520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icecreamconolies/pseuds/icecreamconolies
Summary: My take on Haikyuu!! As a Wattpad fanfiction LOL.Your typical AU! Things that are different for the sake of the plot:• Iwachan has a twin sister (iwachan x2)• Kunimi and Kindaichi are the same year as Iwaizumi and Oikawa•The practice match between Karasuno and Seijoh before their first official match NEVER happened!
Series: Short Stories [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1825096
Kudos: 4





	1. Background

The Iwaizumi family welcomed two children into the world on June 10th. A little boy they called Hajime and a little girl they called Isami. Inseparable since birth, they did everything together: played, studied, fought, and laughed together like siblings do. As they reached elementary school, they made new friends but still loved to hang out together.   
  


Together, Hajime and Isami discovered their talents and interests. It seemed as though they shared the same brain, but lived on the opposite hemispheres. Hajime preferred action while Isami preferred puzzles. However, they complimented each other perfectly. When Hajime would be stuck on a level in a video game, his sister was always there to help him solve problems.   
  
As they grew older, Hajime and Isami began to branch out. Hajime found a passion for volleyball and along with it, a group of boys who shared that passion: Oikawa Toru, Kindaichi Yutaro, Kunimi Akira, and Kageyama Tobio. Isami began to explore the world of art. She found comfort in sketching still life pieces and painting abstract. Although not obvious at first glance, the siblings kept up with their grades and maintained good standings in school.   
  


Isami found her group of friends in art class during a group activity. Shimada Kaida and Kurusu Mari were friends before they met Isami, and they all came together when no one else would ask Isami to be a part of their group. They’ve been inseparable ever since. What they all had in common was a secret passion for volleyball. They’d follow Isami’s brother and his team to practice to watch, then pretend to know what they were doing when they tried to imitate the moves on their own.   
  


“Mari-chan!” Kaida called, setting a low toss.   
  


“It’s too low!” Mari cried, hitting the ball up as high as she could. “Mimi-chan!”

Isami smiled to herself and hit the ball as hard as she could. It flew further than anticipated and nearly struck Hajime in the face as the boys’ volleyball club was leaving practice. “Haji-kuuuuuun!” Isami called, waving to her brother.   
  


“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa snickered. “I think your sister’s calling you.”

Hajime smiled. He was used to Oikawa’s teasing, and deep down, he really cared for his sister. “Mimi-chan! Let’s play!” He waved to Isami, Kaida, and Mari and ran back into the gym. The girls giggled and followed. Oikawa and Kageyama decided to stay behind and play with them. 

They decided it wasn’t fair for boys to be against girls because in the mind of the boys, the girls had absolutely no chance. So they split up with Kageyama, Hajime, and Isami on one team, and Oikawa, Kaida, and Mari on the other team. ”We’ll serve first!” Hajime said, handing the ball to Kageyama. Kageyama sheepishly took it with a shy smile, and hit the ball over then net. Barely able to receive it, Mari hit caught the serve, but it went back over the net. 

“Chance ball!” Isami cried.

Hajime received the ball and called, “Tobio!” Kageyama got in position and set a toss to Isami. Isami jumped and hit the ball past Kaida’s block, and it hit the ground. 

“Yeah!!” She cheered. 

“You’re good,” Kageyama said, barely over a whisper. 

“Huh?” Isami tilted her head inquisitively, and Kageyama had to turn away completely. Instead of feeling offended, Isami laughed and said, “You’re really good, Tobio-chan!”  
  
“Awe, you’re so cute, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa teased from the other side of the net.  
  


“Thank you!” Isami smiled, completely oblivious to his attempt at innocent flirting. Her brother, on the other hand, scoffed and waved him away.   
  


“One more, one more!”   
  


The kids hit the ball for a while before they realized that the sun was starting to set. “Come on, guys! We gotta go!” Isami called from the door.   
  


“Coming!” Hajime and Oikawa came running, but Kageyama was still playing with the ball as he walked towards the exit, carefully setting tosses for himself as he walked.   
  


“You’re really good, Tobio-kun!” Isami said.   
  


“Eh?” Barely phased, or so lost in thought, Kageyama barely turned his head to look at her while catching the ball.   
  


“I said, ‘you’re really good!’”

”Oh, um, thanks,” Kageyama said sheepishly. 

“Do you play a lot?”

Isami continued to talk to Kageyama as the six of them walked home. Kaida and Mari branched off, as they lived in a different neighborhood. When they reached Kageyama’s house, Isami and Hajime waved goodbye before racing each other back to their house.   
  
Everyday after school, Hajime and his friends went to volleyball practice whether coach was there or not. Isami and her friends would stop by occasionally, but they also pursued their passion for art, sitting outside the school and painting portraits of the trees or the grass.

When they did stop by however, it usually ended with a faux match. Each time, Kageyama requested that Isami be on his team. Isami figured it was because she complimented him that one time, but it also seemed like he had no real friends besides Oikawa and herself. Outside of the court, Isami decided to try and make an effort to get Kageyama to come out of his shell. Despite being his senior by two years, Isami spent her lunchtime and free time after school seeking out Kageyama. Kaida and Mari would hang out with them every once in a while, but they also began to lose their interest in volleyball as they progressed in art.

When the last day of elementary school for Oikawa and the Iwaizumi’s came, Isami couldn’t help but search for Kageyama. She didn’t like the thought that she was leaving him alone, but she also figured he’d make new friends. After school as the kids ran out to begin their vacation, Isami let her brother and Oikawa run with them as she looked for Kageyama. She spotted him towards the back, sheepishly trying to get through the crowd.

”Kageyama!” Isami called, going towards him. Upon hearing his name, Kageyama looked up and smiled a little when he saw Isami. “I’m going to junior high next semester!” Kageyama’s face fell.

”I know.”

”Are you okay?”

”Yes.”

”Come on! Let’s go play!” Isami took Kageyama’s hand and pulled him to meet up with Hajime and Oikawa.

”Iwa-chan! There you are,” Oikawa smiled. His smiled widened when he saw Kageyama in tow. “Let’s go play!”   
  


The four of them ran to the park where a lot of the other children were too. What Isami didn’t know was that that was the last day they would see Kageyama for years.


	2. Chapter 2

“One more, one more!”

Isami jotted down more notes as she studied Seijoh’s practice. Many years had passed since she, her brother, or anyone from Seijoh had seen Kageyama, and it’s safe to say they haven’t spoken since their last day of elementary school. Now, they’re up against Karasuno with a rumored quick attack that involved a setter dubbed the “King of the Court,” and a short first year that has an extremely high jump. Something about the way they described the setter’s float toss rang a dusty bell in the back of Isami’s mind, but she couldn’t put a finger on it.   
  


Isami became the club’s manager, and she took her role very seriously. With her guidance and instructions, Seijoh saw victory after victory. “Oikawa, one more!” She called. Oikawa’s serves have aced all day, and she wanted to see if he had one more in him. Sure enough, Oikawa served a nasty ball over the net with blinding speed. She gave him a thumbs up, and the team came running over for water.   
  


“Karasuno, eh?” She overheard Kindaichi say to her brother. “You know, their setter is supposedly someone from our elementary school.”

”Really? I kind of wish I remembered them all now,” Hajime laughed. “Mimi-chan!” Isami looked away from her conversation with Oikawa at the sound of her name and turned towards her brother with an inquisitive ‘hm?’ “Do you remember anyone from elementary that played volleyball?”

”Besides everyone here? No,” Isami replied.   
  


“I think only a few aren’t here,” Kunimi added, wiping his chin on his sleeve. “Since when did you actually listen to rumors, Yu-kun?”

”Just repeating what I heard,” Kindaichi shrugged.   
  


“Like you didn’t do your research,” Oikawa snickered. Kindaichi glared back at him as everyone else around them giggled as well.   
  


“Alright, boys! Let’s clean up!” Isami ordered, clapping her hands together to get everyone’s attention.   
  


“Yep!” Everyone replied back to her. The boys split up to pick up balls and pack away the water while Isami scrunched her nose up as she gathered the sweaty towels to put into the bag she would take home to wash.   
  


After cleaning, the Iwaizumi’s, Oikawa, and Kunimi walked together while everyone else went ahead. “Do you really think we can win against another powerhouse school?” Kunimi wondered aloud.   
  


“Oh, please,” Oikawa said, waving his hand dismissively. “You’ve got me. Besides, they _used to_ be a powerhouse school. They’ve been down on their luck for the last few years.”

Isami rolled her eyes at Oikawa’s boasting, but her own research confirmed what he said. Ever since the Tiny Giant graduated, Karasuno lost their title as a powerhouse school in the world of high school volleyball. Snapping her out of her thoughts was one of Oikawa’s arms embracing her playfully. “You believe in me, right Iwa-chan?” He pouted.

Hajime pried him off of her with a huff. “Hands off my sister, Shittykawa,” he warned. Kunimi and Isami burst out in laughter while Hajime and Oikawa began to bicker. After parting ways, the Iwaizumi’s arrived at their house where dinner was just about ready to be served. After dumping the dirty towels in the wash, Isami joined Hajime and her parents at the table. After a simple dinner, the twins stayed back to wash the dishes while their parents went to bed.

“Their setter is from our elementary school, eh?” Hajime wondered aloud, scrubbing at a plate. Isami finished drying the dish in her hand and put it back in the cabinet with a sigh.

“Why are you still worried about that?” She asked.

“Because if he’s a setter, I can only think of one person.”

”Who?”

”It was someone else in the club we used to play with. I think his name was Kageyama? Or something like that.”

”Wait, wait, wait,” Isami said. She racked her brain for a face to match the familiar name. “The younger boy from the club?”

”Yeah, the setter that you were good friends with.”

”So, that’s where he went, huh?” Isami chuckled. “You think he’s as good as we thought he was back then?”

”Who knows? I haven’t seen him in ages.”

”You’re right.” Isami and Hajime finally finished the dishes then took turns in the washroom to prepare for bed. After Hajime finished, Isami took her time in the tub, sitting and thinking about new ways she could better guide Seijoh’s volleyball team. An idea came flooding into her mind, and she practically ran out of the washroom to hit the idea down in her notes before she forgot it.  
  


After she finished, she decided to text Kaida and Mari.   
  


_Isami: hey guys!_

_Kaida: what’s up?_

_Mari: hey!_

_Isami: do you remember the boys we played volleyball with in elementary school?_

_Kaida: ooooooo, like the cutie you were close to?_

Isami’s nose scrunched up. 

_Isami: um, sure yea. apparently one of them went to Karasuno and we’re going to play them tomorrow_

_Mari: omg! didn’t they all go to seijoh?_

_Kaida: no, a couple of them came to nekoma with us too_

_Mari: do you think seijoh and nekoma will play a match????_

_Isami: maybe. lol!_

Isami smiled and put her phone down. Going their separate ways didn’t dull their friendship. Every once in a while, they still got together to sketch in open spaces such as the park or the beach, but Isami became more and more involved in Seijoh’s volleyball team, which her friends were more than happy to support.   
  


The next day at practice, the day before Seijoh’s match against Karasuno, Isami decided she’d try to teach the boys the block setup she prepared the night before while brainstorming ways to counterattack the rumored quick attack. “Is this what made you take so long in the washroom last night?” Hajime inquired after studying the setup Isami drew on the whiteboard. Everyone snickered while Isami turned beet red. 

“ANYWAY!” She yelled, glaring at her brother. Despite being six minutes older than him, Isami found herself the victim of Hajime’s teasing more often than the other way around. “What do you guys think?”

”Anything is fine by me as long as we win,” Oikawa shrugged. Kindaichi punched him in the shoulder to shut him up and turned his attention back to Isami.   
  


“I think we should try it,” he said, nodding. Everyone else nodded their approval, including Coach Irihata.   
  


“Shall we?” Isami beckoned with a smile, pushing the ball cart towards the net for the setters.   
  


“Yes, ma’am!”

For the next hour, they took turns blocking and receiving, Hajime volunteering to be the spiker for the day, but he ended up swapping with Kunimi when he got worn out. Kindaichi was especially good at blocking, which Isami was happy to see since it’s their first line of defense. After that hour, Coach Irihata called everyone back to the benches for water.   
  


“Alright, everyone. That’s enough for today,” he said. “It’s time for you all to rest up for tomorrow. You can’t go all out when you’re sore from practicing too much.” Isami nodded her agreement. Her plan had come to fruition, and she was more than pleased with the progress they made in just an hour.

”Yes, sir!” The team split up to clean up the gym, while Irihata called Isami.

”You never fail to impress me with your schemes,” he laughed. Isami smiled proudly. “I don’t think we’d have as much hope without you.”

”I try my best,” Isami replied humbly. “The boys deserve the most credit.”

Back at home, Hajime and Isami went over their game plan again. “I think we’ll win this one,” Isami said, nodding at her notes from practice.   
  


“I think we will too,” Hajime agreed, putting his hand on his chin in thought. “But what if they’re too strong?”

”I believe in you guys,” Isami smiled, hugging her younger twin with a single arm around his shoulders.   
  


“Thanks, Mimi,” Hajime laughed, fighting his way out of his sister’s death grip.

~*~

The next day in the spare gym, Seijoh began to warm up. They stretched and hit serves while they waited to be called for the match. Isami’s attention went to Oikawa’s nasty serve, and she watched as it flew over the net with blinding speed and power. _Hm, if we can score even one point, we can definitely use Oikawa..._  
  


“If we don’t have a specialty, we’ve definitely got a weapon,” Irihata laughed, startling Isami out of her thoughts.   
  


“Yeah, we definitely do,” she replied with her own light laugh. Just then, they were called to the main court to begin the match. ”Let’s go!”

”YEAH!”   
  


Together they entered the court where Karasuno was already waiting. Isami and Irihata went to greet the coach and manager of Karasuno, then went to their side of the benches. Oikawa and the other team captain met for a friendly handshake, then retreated to their respective side of the court.   
  


“Moment of truth,” Isami mumbled to herself, labeling a new page of her notes. After writing down their layout for the first play, she tore her gaze away from the paper to scan Karasuno’s lineup. A few potentially-troublesome players stood out, including a tall blonde player with glasses, a hyperactive boy with a shaved head, and their bulky team captain. A few other oddballs stuck out to her: a short boy with black spiky hair and a slightly taller, but still short, boy with orange hair.

Isami recalled that Karasuno’s rumored quick attack included a float toss from a skilled setter and a short spiker with an impressive jump. She mulled over which of the two short players it could be, but she figured it didn’t matter all too much since they seemed to be similar in figure.

Who really stood out to her was a face that she had definitely not seen in years.

He’d matured for sure. Although she remembered him being shorter than her, even sitting down she could tell he was easily a head taller than her. She watched as that familiar face scanned Seijoh’s lineup and contorted to show confusion then realization. As soon as his eyes finished scanning his opponent, his gaze searched the bleachers before settling on Isami, and it remained there for a moment, as if she’s exactly what he was looking for. They made eye contact, and suddenly, it was as if Isami was transported all the way back to her last day of elementary school, looking into the eyes of a boy who gazed back at her with a sad smile, knowing his one true friend was leaving him behind. It wasn’t until the short player with orange hair seemed to snap him out of his daze that he shook his head while preparing to play.

Isami’s gaze shot to her childhood friends, who all showed faint signs of recognition. Hajime’s eyes squinted to study the boy’s face, and Kunimi and Kindaichi tilted their heads inquisitively. Oikawa’s reaction was the most obvious. His eyes widened in realization, and he suddenly burst into laughter, drawing everyone’s attention. “Well, what do you know?” He said after his first laughing fit. “It’s Tobio-chan!”


	3. Chapter 3

Kageyama stretched on the court with his team while they waited for their opponents to arrive. “Kageyama!” At the sound of his name, he turned to Hinata.   
  


“Do you think we’ll see the Great King?!” Hinata’s eyes were practically bulging out of his head and sparkling. Kageyama shrugged, trying to recall who exactly that was.   
  


“Probably,” he replied dismissively. He heard about Seijoh from Coach Ukai, but any standouts had slipped his mind.   
  


“‘Great King’ my ass,” Tanaka huffed. “We got this! After all, we have you guys!” He gestured towards Hinata and Kageyama. Hinata was practically jumping up and down with glee and excitement, while Kageyama shrugged it off. He didn’t know how to take compliments very well, nor had he let anyone into his personal bubble for a very long time. The only two real friends he’d ever had were lost to memory, but whenever he recalled them, he found himself smiling slightly.   
  


“Kageyama’s smiling!” Hinata was gaping at Kageyama, and suddenly everyone’s eyes were on him.

Kageyama quickly shook the smile from his face and looked away. “Hinata, _boke_ ,” he growled and began to walk away.   
  


“Well, isn’t he a ray of sunshine,” Tsukishima said, eyeing Kageyama with a disinterested look on his face.   
  


“Give him a break, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi chided. “After all, he doesn’t smile often,” he added with a snicker.   
  


“Alright, let’s line up!” Daichi called. He’d been told their opponent, Seijoh, was on their way in. Karasuno came running over and lined up on their side of the court. Then, the doors opened, and Seijoh walked in. Those from their school that came to cheer them on started clapping and yelling. Kageyama kept his gaze on the floor, still embarrassed at being caught reminiscing, so he barely caught a glimpse of his opponent. Hinata looked at him curiously, but his attention went back to Daichi when it was time to greet Seijoh’s team.   
  


Karasuno’s starting lineup ran into position, and Kageyama finally decided to scan his opponent. Looking at their starting lineup, he was hit with a feeling of deja vu. He inhaled sharply and began to study them as closely as he could without seeming creepy. In the back was a face with messy brown hair and an infamous smirk so familiar that the memories of his childhood came rushing back. His eyes quickly darted from face to face, and while he didn’t recognize most, there were three others that he felt like he’d seen before, especially the one with brown spiky hair.

Suddenly, the memories came flooding back, and he was no longer standing in the high school boys’ volleyball tournament, but in an elementary school gym with a shortened net. He was playing volleyball with a bunch of other boys, most of them older than him, and three little girls were sitting on the stage behind the court, watching and cheering. He saw only one of the girls’ face vividly: the one with darker skin and long brown hair, and his best memories of lunches, park play dates, and faux matches with her came back to him.  
  


If memory served him right, Kageyama was sure that he boy with spiky hair was that girl’s brother. He scanned the bleachers, hoping to find her watching the match, but he couldn’t find her. His eyes landed on the manager of the team, and it was as if something clicked into place. When they made eye contact, Kageyama’s heart stopped beating for a split second.   
  


“Kageyamaaaaaaaa?”

Hinata’s voice was like a bucket of cold water that was dumped on his head. Kageyama was suddenly back in the present and he shook his head to clear his thoughts.   
  


“I-I’m fine,” He shooed Hinata away, and averted his gaze.   
  


“Well what do you know?!” The server from Seijoh yelled. “It’s Tobio-chan!”   
  


Kageyama didn’t need to look up to know all eyes were on him. Of course his old best friend would remember his name and call him out like this. “Tobio-chaaaaan! It’s me! Oikawa!”

”Shut up!” The boy with brown spiky hair looked just about ready to pick a fight with Oikawa.

”Relax, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa sighed. “We have a moment to spare, don’t you think? Hey! Other Iwa-chan!” Oikawa turned to Seijoh’s manager sitting on the bench. “Remember Tobio?!”   
  
~*~

Isami never wanted to disappear more. Both her and Coach Irihata were rubbing their foreheads in frustration. It was just like Oikawa to pull off something like this before a game. Isami looked at Oikawa and gave him a death glare. Oikawa laughed, and the referee handed him the ball for the first serve.   
  


~*~  
  


The match was a close one. Isami’s plan for blocks was working well so far, and she was more than pleased with every point they scored because of how much each point weighed as they neared the end of the match. At one point, Oikawa and Kageyama fought over the net, but Oikawa managed to dump the ball onto Karasuno’s side of the court.   
  


Isami began to cheer, but looking at Kageyama’s face silenced her. Oikawa was looking down at him victoriously, and he looked back up at him with such a dejected expression that Isami sort of felt bad that Seijoh was winning. The more they played, the more tense Isami felt. She found herself leaning forward on the bench, clutching her notebook to her chest.   
  


“Hinata, go!”

The desperate scream from the opposing side grabbed Isami’s attention, and she saw the short boy with orange hair darting to the other side of the court. The word “quick” was an understatement. It was as if Isami blinked, and he had teleported to the other side of the court.   
  


“Left, left!” Isami yelled, leaping up from the bench, startling Irihata half to death. By some miracle, Kindaichi was there, and the spike was shut out. “YEAH!!”   
  


Everyone ran to clap Kindaichi on the back, and Isami continued to cheer for her side. On the other hand, Karasuno’s receivers took their time standing up from the ground where they failed to receive the block. Isami looked to Kageyama, who looked to where the ball fell. The ref blew the whistle, and the match had concluded. The Seijoh members on the side ran over to celebrate and cheer for their win on the court before Isami yelled at them to be respectful and lineup to thank Karasuno for the match.   
  
When they lined up at the net, Kageyama ended up shaking hands with Hajime, and despite their loss, Kageyama managed a small smile for an old friend. Hajime smiled back, but Oikawa wrestled him away in order to talk to Kageyama.

”Hey, Tobio-chan! How about we meet up and you know, talk about the good old days?” Oikawa said. Isami wanted to smack him. She could hear what he was saying all the way on the other side of the court. Hinata looked at Oikawa with mixed emotion. Isami saw pain, happiness, and sadness all mixed into a forced smile.   
  


Kageyama bit his lip and averted his gaze, but stuck his hand out for a friendly handshake for sportsmanship’s sake. “Yeah,” he finally replied. After they had thanked those in the stands for supporting them, the boys came back to the benches to pack up and go home for the day. Karasuno’s side packed up their things and began to leave, but Kageyama was not with them.

Out of the corner of her eye, through the door, Isami spotted Kageyama walking on his own from the restrooms. Her feet seemed to move on their own, and she heard Hajime say something along the lines of ‘wait where are you going?’ But she replied with a haphazard ‘I’ll be right back’ and her feet scurried faster. She spotted Kageyama standing by the vending machine at the end of the hallway and decided to run up to him.   
  


“Tobio!” She called out. Startled, Kageyama slightly jumped into the air and turned just as his milk box dropped. Isami stopped running about six feet away, and they stood there subtly studying each other. “Um, hi.”

Kageyama snapped out of his thoughts and turned to get his milk from the vending machine. “Uh, hi,” he replied sheepishly, turning to face her completely. Neither of them made a notion to move, so they both rocked back and forth on their feet awkwardly, thinking of the right thing to say.   
  


“It’s been awhile!”

”Yeah, I agree.”

Isami’s heart was pounding so hard, she could hear it. Maybe it was because they were alone? The memories of trying to befriend a lonely boy in elementary school came flooding back, and she found herself wanting to reach out and hug him. “I’ve... missed you.”

Kageyama’s eyes widened. Part of him so badly wanted to say, _I missed you too,_ but he couldn’t find it in him to say it out loud. He wanted so badly to think she was the same girl that always included him in everything and invited him to hang out with her, her brother, and their friends.   
  


On the other hand, they truly left him alone. No contact, no visits, nothing. They went to a different junior high as well! Now in high school, they were all together and barely remembered who he was. He thought that their friendship truly was one-sided. Kageyama found himself averting his gaze instead. “I have to go.” He brushed past Isami and walked away, staring at the ground.

Isami felt like she was glued to the ground. Did he just... blow her off? She turned slowly and vaguely spotted his figure disappear back into the gym. “Well.. I wasn’t expecting that,” she whispered to no one in particular. Her feet slowly regained feeling, and she walked slowly back to the gym where Hajime and Oikawa were waiting for her.   
  


“You ready to go?” Hajime asked her.   
  


“Mhm,” she replied, grabbing the cooler and walking towards the bus without looking back to see if her brother or Oikawa were following her.   
  


“What happened to her?” Oikawa asked after sharing a confused glance with Hajime.   
  


“No idea,” Hajime shrugged.   
  


“Iwa-chan! What happened??” Oikawa called, running to catch up with her.   
  


“I swear to God, I’m going to kill you if you try anything with my sister!” Hajime yelled, running after Oikawa. Isami could barely hear their bickering over her thoughts. She missed her old best friend, and she wanted to talk to him again, but now she’d have to wait until-

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa’s hand on her shoulder made her jump, and she turned her head towards him. “Are you okay?”

”Yeah, sorry. I tried to talk to Tobio-“ 

“Ah, the wonderful world of heartbreak,” Oikawa said, putting his hand over his heart.   
  


“N-no! It’s nothing like that!” She shook her head. “It’s just... it felt like I was talking to a different person.”

”Oh, two old friends who barely remember each other,” Kindaichi laughed. Isami blushed, embarrassed that someone else overheard. They arrived at the bus and loaded everything into the trunk before boarding. Isami sat next to her brother with Oikawa across the aisle.   
  


“You know, we could try going to his house tomorrow,” Oikawa suggested.   
  


“Are you crazy?” Hajime huffed. “As if you know where he lives.”

”Well, we can see if he lives in the same house as he did back then.”

”And how on earth do you remember that?” Kunimi asked, leaning over the seat from behind Isami. Oikawa shrugged.   
  


“Maybe it’ll come to me when we get close to the school.” Kunimi, Isami, Hajime, and Kindaichi all facepalmed, but figured it was worth a shot. Isami stared out the window and watched the buildings go by.   
  


“Looks like I’m back to square one,” she mumbled. Hajime looked up from his phone.   
  


“What do you mean?” He asked quietly. Mostly everyone on the bus had fallen asleep. Behind them, Kindaichi and Kunimi were snoring away.  
  


“Trying to talk to Kageyama again. You know, he didn’t really talk to anyone besides me and Oikawa. Now he can barely even look at me.” Hajime chuckled and put an arm around his sister.   
  


“You’re being so dramatic, Mimi. Maybe he just doesn’t remember us just like we barely remembered him. He’s probably being shy again. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

Isami gave him a smile and hugged him back. “Okay.” She freed herself from the hug and leaned against the window, putting her earbuds in and getting lost in her music.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, the Iwaizumi’s, Oikawa, Kunimi, and Kindaichi all met up at the park near their old elementary school as planned. Hajime and Isami arrived first, and seeing the slide, the swings, and the monkey bars put a reminiscent smile on Isami’s face. “I wonder why we didn’t come back to this place at all,” Hajime said aloud.   
  


“So do I,” Isami mumbled. “Do you think Kageyama came here on his own?”

”I doubt it,” her brother replied. “He wasn’t the kind to go out on his own back then.” Isami hummed in response. She sat on the swings and began to rock back and forth. Hajime sat beside her, and together they thought back to their childhood silently with the only sound being the rusty chains groaning with each swing.   
  


Isami tucked in her legs to swing back, but her breath was knocked out of her when she struck another body. “Oof!” Oikawa grunted, clutching his stomach.   
  


“Toru-san!” Isami gasped and stood up to check on him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you!”

”Yeah, I was trying to scare you,” Oikawa wheezed. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Don’t worry.” He tried to calm her worried with a smile. Hajime scoffed.

”Akira and Yū?” He asked. Oikawa shrugged. 

“I came by myself.” Oikawa’s attention went back to Isami. “Shall I push you?”

”Even after I kicked you?”   
  


“Why not?” Before Isami could reply, Hajime made a noise that she had never heard in their sixteen years of spending every single day together: he was practically growling at Oikawa. Isami rolled her eyes and let Oikawa push get on the swing while they waited for the other two to arrive. 

”What a family man,” Oikawa muttered with a snicker. Isami giggled at her brother’s glare knowing it was no use either way. She had no interest in pursuing Oikawa, or anyone for that matter, romantically. She told him that, but he didn’t care, claiming they looked at her funny, and he didn’t like it.   
  


Finally, Kindaichi and Kunimi arrived, and they began to follow Oikawa, who claimed to remember the way to Kageyama’s house. “I can’t tell if I should consider it creepy or impressive that you remember this,” Kunimi commented. Oikawa laughed it off.   
  


“In this case, consider it convenient,” He replied.   
  


“Can’t argue with that one, Akira,” Kindaichi commented. Isami and Hajime chimed in their agreements, and Kunimi sighed in defeat. Sure enough, they came up to the gate with a sign that read “Kageyama.”   
  


“Well, I’ll be damned,” Hajime said, putting a hand on his hip. “He did it.”

”Of course I did,” Oikawa boasted. Hajime rolled his eyes, smacked the back of Oikawa’s head, and went to ring the bell. “Owwww, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa whimpered, rubbing the back of his head. “Mimi-chaaaaan, your brother hit me!”

”It was well-deserved, Torū,” Isami shrugged, Kindaichi and Kunimi snickering behind her. The receiver underneath the bell began to static, and a voice came through.   
  


“Yes?”

Hajime stuttered and shoved his sister forward to talk instead. ”Um, is Tobio-kun home?” Isami said into the speaker, glaring over her shoulder at her brother.  
  


“Who’s asking?”

”Uh,” Isami looked to her friends for help, but they all shrugged. “Iwaizumi?”

The voice on the receiver gasped. “Isami-chan?!”

Isami was taken aback, but replied, “Y-yeah. I have with me my friends: Oikawa-san-“ Before she could say who was with her, the front door slid open, and an older woman came rushing out.   
  


“Isami-chan! It’s been so long!” She came running, opened the gate and embraced Isami who awkwardly hugged her back. “Oh! Torū, and Hajime!”   
  


Kunimi and Kindaichi felt awkward standing behind them, but they felt that the Iwaizumi’s and Oikawa really were the ones who would spend the most time with Kageyama; she would know them best. “You’ve all matured!” Isami tried to give the woman her attention, but movement in the corner of her eye caused her to turn her head to look at the door where she managed to see Kageyama duck back behind the door.

”We were wondering if Tobio-kun would like to join us at the park today,” Oikawa said. The woman laughed.

”I’m sure he would! I’ll go get him.” She disappeared back into her house, leaving the five of them awkwardly standing outside.   
  


“I will say,” Oikawa started. “That that was not at all what I expected.”

”You can say that again,” Isami agreed.   
  


”So, what exactly _is_ the plan here?” Kunimi asked.   
  


“Hopefully exactly what Oikawa said, and we’re going to the park,” Kindaichi said, sighing.   
  


“Since when do you have such low standards for me, Yu-chan?” Oikawa said, mocking hurt. “That’s too boring. We’re going ice skating!”

Hajime groaned. While Isami and Oikawa seemed to have an affinity for gracefully sliding across the ice, he seemed to have an affinity for butt sliding. Hajime never left an ice rink unscathed, and Kindaichi was right there with him. Kunimi needed time to get used to the motion of skating, but maybe ten minutes in, he’s pretty good at it.   
  


It was about 15 minutes before Kageyama’s mother was basically shoving him out the door. Once Kageyama was outside the gate, she locked it and ran back inside and locked the front door as well to make sure he couldn’t come back in. She leaned out of the window and called, “Have fun, everyone!”

”Thank you, Kageyama-san!” Oikawa flashed his signature smile and looped his arm around Kageyama to pull him along towards the station. “Tobio-chan! How’ve you been?” He asked, pulling the boy closer.   
  


“F-fine,” Kageyama replied, stumbling to catch up with Oikawa’s increasing pace while quite literally stuck in a headlock of a hug.   
  


“What the hell is he doing?” Hajime muttered to Isami.   
  


“Torū?”

”Yeah.”

”Who knows?” Isami snickered. Once they got to the station, Oikawa had finally released Kageyama from the hug, and Kageyama decided to stand on the other side of the group to avoid that same situation. He ended up standing next to Isami with Oikawa and her other side.   
  


On the train, there was nowhere to sit. “I didn’t expect the trains to be full today,” Isami commented. Her friends chimed in their agreements and awkwardly shuffled in, holding onto the ceiling metal bars instead. Hajime made an effort to stand between Oikawa and his sister, hugging her against himself to make sure she wasn’t touching anyone. Isami rolled her eyes, but she didn’t make a move to leave.   
  


“How far is our stop?” Kunimi asked, studying the map over the train door.   
  


“I think we’re three stops away,” Isami answered. She turned to Kageyama, who was faced away from the group and staring out the window at the buildings going by. “Kageyama-kun, are you good at ice skating?”

”Hm?” Snapping out of his daydream, Kageyama looked over his shoulder to slightly face Isami. “Oh, not really.”

”I can teach you then!” Isami’s eyes were practically sparkling with excitement, and Kageyama couldn’t help but recall the sparkle Hinata had in his eyes right before they lost the Seijoh. He briefly made eye contact with the Great King, who was already studying him closely. A pang in his chest at the memory of being knocked down after losing the fight with Oikawa over the net that day made him grit is teeth and look away again.  
  


“Alright,” Kageyama eventually replied to Isami. Oblivious to Kageyama’s thoughts, Isami excitedly started talking with Hajime, Kunimi, and Kindaichi, teasing them about how bad they were at skating. Kunimi argued that he only needed a little time before he was just as good as she was. His comment made Kindaichi snicker, knowing it was a lie. None of their friends were as good as Isami, except for maybe Oikawa, and that was only if he decided to try.   
  


At the ice rink, they paid the entrance fee and rented their skates. Isami sat next to Kageyama just as he finished tying up his skates. “You ready?” She asked him excitedly.   
  


“Oh, yeah,” Kageyama replied. He was just as talkative as she remembered him being back in elementary. Out of the corner of his eye, Kageyama thought he saw Oikawa watching, but the Great King’s attention was shifted almost immediately to Hajime struggling to stand up in his skates that Kageyama thought he imagined it.   
  


“Come! I’ll teach you how to skate,” Isami barely gave Kageyama enough time to stand up straight before taking his hand and pulling him towards the ice. Once onto the slippery surface, Kageyama nearly lost his balance completely and hung onto the wall for dear life. Isami’s laughter was like music to his ears. 

_Wait, what?_ Kageyama shook his head to clear the thought and used to wall to get both feet underneath him. Once her laughter faded to just her smile, Isami gently took one of Kageyama’s hands but let him cling to the wall with the other. “We’ll go slow, don’t worry,” she reassured him. “Just push back with one foot, then the other.” 

Slowly, Isami skated backwards while coaxing Kageyama to skate. Eventually, to her delight, he let go of the wall and held both of her hands to keep his balance. “You got it!” She exclaimed. Something about the way she was praising his horrible footwork encouraged him to keep trying 

“Can you, um,” he stuttered, struggling to find the right way to ask. “Only hold one of my hands now?” Kageyama expected to be teased or for Isami to let go and skate away, but instead she laughed and did as he asked, letting one of his hands go and moved to skate next to him while still holding the other. Slowly, Kageyama began to get the hang of skating and was able to keep up with Isami... when she was skating really, really slowly.   
  


“Okay, let’s see here,” Isami said. Kageyama raised his eyebrow inquisitively just as Isami suddenly let go of his hand.   
  


“Ah-!” Kageyama didn’t realize how much he was relying on Isami’s strong arms to keep his balance on his left side, and he stumbled immediately. “Iwaizumi-san!” He yelled in a panic, flailing his arms wildly. Isami attempted to catch him by grabbing his arms, but his flailing arms and loss of balance sent his feet flying out from under him and onto his butt, taking Isami down with him.   
  


Kageyama froze as Isami crashed against his chest on her stomach and prepared to apologize a thousand times over. His first apology was cut off by Isami’s laughter. Instead of being mad as crashing face-first into the ice, the only thing saving her from literally face-planting being Kageyama’s shoulder, she thought the situation was hilarious.   
  


“You really weren’t lying when you said you didn’t know how to skate,” she wheezed out between laughs. Kageyama tried his best to hold back his own laughter, but he couldn’t help the small snicker that escaped his throat.

Out of nowhere, Isami’s laughter made her snort. Both Kageyama and Isami went silent, and Isami looked up at him nervously. Kageyama began to snicker, and Isami let herself laugh again. Kageyama was overcome with the same feeling he had when he spent time with her back in elementary school. He helped her up with a rare smile and let her guide him again, afraid that they were going to fall. As the pain in his butt faded away, he felt himself slowly forgive the grudge he held since elementary school.

Maybe he was being childish for years and was now being mature. Maybe he never really was angry at all. At the moment, he didn’t care and instead let himself smile again with an old best friend, just like they used to.  
  


~*~

”Come on, Iwachan, it’s not that hard!” Oikawa groaned. He’d been stuck with Hajime holding onto his arm as he tried to get his feet under him and skate. Kindaichi was being dragged by Kunimi, who had lost his patience with Kindaichi literally dragging him down by falling. 

“Shut up,” Hajime hissed. He pushed aside his pride and chose to cling to Oikawa, of all people, instead of busting his ass by himself. If he was going to fall, he wouldn’t do it alone.   
  


“Ah-!”

The sound of a scream called both their attentions. Hajime and Oikawa looked over to see Isami topple onto Kageyama. Oikawa’s eyes widened, and he would’ve dropped Hajime if the ace hadn’t gripped his arm tighter.

”Iwachan, don’t mind, don’t mind,” Oikawa said through gritted teeth, trying to sound casual and indifferent.   
  


“I’m trying,” Hajime replied with a gently laugh, looking away. Oikawa hummed in question. Hajime was usually way more violent when he tried to flirt with his sister. “Oh, yeah, the rekindling of a long lost lover.”

Oikawa dropped Hajime completely. In his mind, Hajime did the exact same thing to him with what he just said. “What... do you mean?” He hissed.   
  


“I might be wrong, asshole!” Hajime rolled his eyes, struggling to get his feet under him. “She said something along those lines years ago, but again, that was _years_ ago! I was trying to be funny!”

”Is that so..?” Oikawa glanced over his shoulder again at Kageyama and Isami struggling to stand. Once they finally got up, they managed to continue skating along the wall, Kageyama holding onto the wall every once in a while. What disturbed Oikawa the most was how both of them were smiling brightly, and Kageyama’s reddish tint to his cheeks.   
  


~*~ 

After they left the skating rink, Kageyama began to slowly say more than two words at a time. Isami noticed Oikawa was strangely quieter than usual, but she also saw her brother clinging onto him for dear life, so she figured it’s just Oikawa being tired of being dragged down all afternoon.   
  


Walking back to Kageyama’s house from the station, they stopped by a convenience store to buy snacks: a milk bun was in Oikawa’s hand, milk carton in Kageyama’s hand, the twins sharing a comically large package of Pocky, and Kunimi and Kindaichi each had a popsicle. Kageyama felt comfortable enough to talk about his time at Karasuno so far. “Wait wait wait, what happened at your first practice match?” Isami laughed.   
  


“I got hit in the back of the head by a bad serve,” Kageyama chuckled.   
  


“At least a wing spiker didn’t hit you in the face with a ball,” Kindaichi scoffed, glaring at Kunimi.   
  


“You blocked it, though. Didn’t you?” Kunimi replied coolly.   
  


“You almost hit Isami!”

”Was this... a practice match?” Kageyama asked.   
  


“Nope,” Isami laughed, rolling her eyes. “Right after one.”

”Why were you spiking?”

”Isami wasn’t paying attention,” Kunimi stuck his tongue out at Isami.   
  


“I was getting you water!” She pointed out. Everyone’s laughter once again filled the air. When they finally reached Kageyama’s house, the rang the bell and waited for Kageyama’s mom to open the door and gate.   
  


“I’m surprised she didn’t padlock it,” Hajime laughed.   
  


“So am I,” Kageyama chuckled.

”So, when’s the next time we can hang out?” Isami asked excitedly. Kageyama’s smile faltered slightly.   
  


“I don’t know. I have volleyball.”   
  


Isami’s smile faltered as well, but she nodded, understanding completely. “That’s okay.”

”We’ll figure something out, alright?” Kindaichi reassured everyone. “Cuz you had fun today, and you’d want to do it again, right?” He asked Kageyama.   
  


Kageyama couldn’t deny it. His small grin returned as he nodded. “Yeah.”   
  
“Wait, let’s get your number,” Kunimi said. Everyone took out their phones and Kageyama went down the line inputting his number. When he got to Oikawa, the Great King looked away.

”Iwa-chan will send it to me,” he said. “We have to go.” Oikawa began walking away as they heard the door click open. Kunimi, Kindaichi, and the twins soon followed him. 

“Then we’ll see you around, Tobio-kun!” Isami called as Kageyama’s mother opened the gate to let him in.   
  


“Right,” he said, his smile growing ever so slightly. He waved as they walked away, back towards their neighborhood.   
  


“So, how was your day?” His mother asked him.   
  


“Fine.” Kageyama took his shoes off and left them by the door, picking up the volleyball nearby and heading to the backyard.   
  


“Oh, you,” his mother sighed, leaving him be. Kageyama laid on the patio, tossing the ball up as he played through the afternoon again in his head. The sound of his phone pinging with the pictures Isami took startled him, and he missed the last toss. The ball landed on his chest with a thud, causing him to cough. The memory of Isami landing on top of him when they fell came back when the ball landed, and his jaw tightened.

The fall hurt, that’s for sure, but at the moment he couldn’t tell if the tightening in his chest was just from the impact. He thought it was just the breath being knocked out of him as he was sandwiched between the floor and another human body. But now, as he put himself back in that moment, the tightening returned without a physical weight on his chest, and he found himself hiding his face under his arms and letting the volleyball roll off his chest onto the patio. What he was hiding, though, was the smile fighting its way to show and the tingling feeling creeping up the back of his neck to his cheeks.   
  


Kageyama sat up straight and shook his head. _I’m getting a cold, that’s all,_ he thought, heading back inside to take a hot shower. 


End file.
